Under California state Democratic Sen. Jerry Hill's new bill, Catholic priests would be required to tell civil authorities if they learn in Confession that the penitent has sexually abused someone. CNS photo/Mike Stechschulte, The Michigan Catholic

LOS ANGELES – Church officials are urging Catholics to continue to oppose a California bill that would force priests to disclose information about child sexual abuse that they hear in the Sacrament of Confession.

The call came as the Senate measure, known as S.B. 360, advanced in the Legislature after lawmakers "accepted several of the Church's recommendations to strengthen mandated reporting requirements for clergy," as Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez noted in a May 20 statement.More ...Friday, May 24, 2019

WASHINGTON – The chairman of the U.S. bishops' domestic policy committee May 24 called for "prayers for the victims and their grieving families and communities" affected by devastating storms from Texas to Illinois.More ...Friday, May 24, 2019

WASHINGTON – Five U.S. bishops, chairmen of U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' committees or subcommittees, said May 17 they were "gravely disappointed" with the U.S. House of Representatives passage of the Equality Act.More ...Monday, May 20, 2019

ALBANY, N.Y. – The numbers are so staggering that it has been called “torture.”

Solitary confinement is in widespread use in prisons across the United States and, in New York state alone, more than 3,000 inmates are isolated in 6-by-10 cells for over 23 hours a day. The Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Act, which has not yet made its way to the floor of the New York state House or Senate, is looking to change that.

WASHINGTON – Catholic immigration advocates raised concerns about a proposal from President Donald Trump that would reshape U.S. immigration policy to incorporate a "merit-based" system that prioritizes high-skilled workers over those with family already in the country.More ...Friday, May 17, 2019

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – By passing a bill to ban abortion in nearly all circumstances, the Alabama Legislature has recognized that abortion is "the extinguishing of a unique human life," said the president and CEO of Americans United for Life.More ...Thursday, May 16, 2019

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – When news of a school shooting May 7 at STEM School Highlands Ranch reached St. Mark Parish, just two miles away, parish staff members immediately began calling the nine families from the parish known to have children at the school.

WASHINGTON – Four U.S. bishops, chairmen of U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops committees or subcommittees, have signed on to a letter voicing religious freedom concerns with the Equality Act, introduced in the House this year.More ...Monday, May 13, 2019

WASHINGTON – Catholic leaders are calling for prayer and action in response to the May 7 school shooting inside a charter school near Denver. One teenager died and eight other students were wounded.More ...Wednesday, May 8, 2019

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – People gathered to pray at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte the day after a student opened fire April 30 in a classroom at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, which killed two people and wounded four others.More ...Friday, May 3, 2019

VATICAN CITY – While protests against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro raged across the country, National Guard forces loyal to the embattled head of state launched tear gas at churchgoers attending Mass at a local parish.More ...Thursday, May 2, 2019

BANGKOK – Several experts believe the threat to churches in South and Southeast Asia has increased following the Easter bomb attacks that killed more than 250 people and injured 500.More ...Thursday, May 2, 2019

PHILADELPHIA – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit ruled April 22 that the city of Philadelphia can bar Catholic Social Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia from placing children in foster care with any family because the Catholic agency upholds traditional marriage.

Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, issued the following statement on the deadly shooting April 27 that took place at Chabad of Poway Synagogue near San Diego. More ...Monday, April 29, 2019

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis will head to the Eastern periphery of Europe May 5-7, visiting Bulgaria and North Macedonia, both predominantly Orthodox countries with a small, but active Catholic minority.More ...Thursday, April 25, 2019

WASHINGTON – During April 23 oral arguments before the Supreme Court, the majority of justices seemed in favor of an added question about U.S. citizenship on the 2020 census questionnaire.More ...Tuesday, April 23, 2019

BANGKOK – The Sri Lankan government blamed little-known Islamic group National Thowheeth Jama'ath for the Easter suicide bombings that targeted three churches and three luxury hotels across the country.More ...Monday, April 22, 2019

WASHINGTON – Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, condemned the coordinated attacks carried out by terrorists April 21 on multiple churches and hotels in Sri Lanka.More ...Sunday, April 21, 2019